Repression, human trafficking, violence against women ... The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres drew up a grim picture of human rights in the world on Monday, referring in particular to "alarming levels of feminicide".
Antonio Guterres expressed concern that "women's rights have been set back, alarming levels of feminicide, attacks on women's rights defenders, and the persistence of laws and policies that perpetuate submission and exclusion". "Violence against women and girls is the most widespread human rights violation," he said at the opening of the annual session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. .
"Fears are progressing"
On the other hand, "repressive laws are multiplying, with increasing restrictions on the freedoms of expression, religion, participation, assembly and association," added Antonio Guterres. "Journalists, human rights defenders and environmental activists - especially women - are facing increasing threats, even as their engagement is essential to the achievement of justice," he added. .
"Human rights face growing challenges," said Antonio Guterres, adding that "no country is immune" to this drift. "Fears are progressing" and "Human rights are under attack" from everywhere, he added, calling on the international community to "act" to reverse this trend.
The climate crisis at the heart of the challenges
The UN secretary-general did not mention any country in particular in his speech, even though he alluded to situations such as the conflict in Syria or the plight of migrants wanting to go to Europe. He thus highlighted the case of "civilians trapped in enclaves in war-ravaged regions, starving and bombed despite international law", and denounced the "trafficking in human beings, which affects all regions of the world".
The new technologies "have certainly enabled civil society to organize themselves better, but they have also given the authorities unprecedented means of controlling the comings and goings of everyone and restricting freedoms," the UN chief continued. "The climate crisis is the greatest threat to the survival of our species and is already endangering human rights around the world," he added.
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- World
- femicide
- Violence against women
- UN
- Womens rights